I really appreciate all of the helpful tips and advice. You guys are great. I'll have these printed and onhand, reciting them as mantra in my head as I build stories and consider encounters. I would however be hesitant to hand out grimiores alot, but I can see the benefit to letting a new group get a sense of how spell casting works as a mechanic, rather than just watching our Manifest Power driven caster do the same thing without any tampering with the spell effect. Anywho, with all that said, it's been a good week since my original post, and we've finished character building across the whole group. They are considering why they would be on a train to Malifaux, while I start coming up with the first few days in the city. What to do, what challenges to face. I've already come across a few trip ups regarding their "attacks" however.
One character chose to become a Martial Arts expert, flavored around a gentleman Native American who is as at home in nature as he is in a rented hotel room. With Tanto in mind, mixed with The Legend of Kung fu guy (i didnt have the heart to inform him on the most recent events involving David Carradine, but I was secretly hoping he would add that flavor into it too "My character is REALLY good at holding his breath....because....reasons." ), In the books I was unable to find what his attack would be, as an open handed punch. Is there a basic attack I should be looking at, and what would Martial Arts grant to it as a benefit? He chose Primal, so I know his damage is +1 thanks to the Force of Nature Talent.
Additionally, how does counterspellling work? Our sorcerer knows this as well, and I'm envisioning it as some kind of reaction to being attacked by a spell. I'm used to Dnd 4th editions "immediate reactions", but I dont thing this game has those. More or less, just triggers is all I see as the only thing to interrupt someone's turn in combat. Will she have a say in every spell being cast on the battlefield? Just ones against her? Or is it more infrequent than that?
If there is simply a page I have stuck together in my books, direct my to the right pages and the book, and I'll make sense of it myself. But any help would be nice.